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Kendra Andrews, ESPN
Stephen Curry said he doesn't think the NBA will see another dynasty like the Golden State Warriors.
Curry told ESPN following the departure of Klay Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks last week that he thinks it's unlikely that what the Warriors built with Thompson, Draymond Green and himself will be repeated.
“Obviously there are a lot of different ways to define a dynasty,” Curry said in an interview with ESPN's Malika Andrews. “Everybody thought it was over in 2019, but 2022 was a great championship year that defied expectations. It's the 11th year of nearly 12 championship years built around a nucleus.”
“i don't think so [it will be replicated] Because in this league, it's so hard to put things together. There's so much turnover. Me, Klay and Draymond have complemented each other well for a long time. We each bring something different to the table, so who knows what's going to happen. Records are made to be broken. Dynasties are born in us in different ways. Who knows what's going to happen.”
Curry said he was “saddened” that Thompson would no longer be his teammate and said he “desperately” wanted him back in a Warriors uniform this season, but he has equal respect and understanding for Thompson and understands he needs a fresh start.
Curry said his biggest wish is for Thompson to regain the joy of playing that he has felt for most of his career.
“We never imagined this would happen, but we want him to be happy,” Curry said.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr used the word “weird” to describe what it's been like without Thompson with the team this season, and it probably wouldn't have been surreal for him or the Warriors if he hadn't attended media day in September and seen Thompson there.
“This place has become like a family over the years and everyone has watched us grow and be together and succeed and fail,” Kerr said, “so for Clay to leave, yeah, it's weird for us and it's weird for everybody.” [But] “Everyone here is given a lot of freedom and has to follow their own heart. The best thing for Clay was that he needed a change.”
In some ways, the Warriors needed a change, too — not so much from Thompson but from the past two seasons, when they lost in the second round of the playoffs in 2023 and the play-in tournament in 2024.
Curry has two years left on his contract, so the Warriors' top priority will be making the most of what he has left.
Golden State has acquired Kyle Anderson, De'Anthony Melton and Buddy Hield since agreeing to trade Thompson to the Mavericks, and the team is expected to place more emphasis on up-and-coming players such as Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis.
Curry said he's well aware that the Warriors will be looking different than ever before and will have a bigger learning curve, and that what they can accomplish is more unknown than ever.
For Curry, it was comforting to be on the court next to Thompson every night. Even when Thompson missed two seasons with injuries, his presence on the bench and in the locker room provided an overwhelming sense of closeness rarely seen in the NBA, even in the moments when Curry had to offer him a pep talk.
“We wanted to keep our core guys together and finish the game together,” Curry said, “so we've got to celebrate what we did and be able to move on.”
For his part, Curry plans to finish his career with the only team he's ever known.
“I know staying in one place for my career is kind of repetitive, but it's really hard,” he said. “I want to be greedy and while my gray hair is growing and I'm visiting high schools in the Bay Area, I want to give ourselves a realistic chance to be relevant, to be in the mix and to win.” [Area] For my daughter. That's amazing. [It’s] That's the nature of where I am right now. But yeah, I love the Bay Area, the Bay Area is home, and I don't want to change that.”
